We don't know a ton about what the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will entail, but Marvel has enlisted more comedic talent to join its ranks. Comedian and Oscar nominee Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, The Lego Ninjago Movie) will star in the forthcoming The Eternals.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Nanjiani will star alongside Angelina Jolie (Maleficent, Unbroken) in The Eternals. Jolie, as stated in the report, is said to play a character named Sersi, an outgoing Eternal who is willing to brush shoulders with humans. Nanjiani's role, however, has yet to be revealed. The project is led by director Chloe Zhao (Songs My Brothers Taught Me, The Rider), with writing by cousins Matthew K. (Zombie High School, The Agency Blues) and Ryan Firpo (Bet Raise Fold, Baalin: Control).
The first Eternals comic was published in 1976 by late writer and artist, Jack Kirby (1917-1994). The Eternals, an offshoot of life created by an alien race called the Celestials, were established to protect the Earth from the Deviants, a dastardly project by the Celestials gone awry. 30 years later, eclectic writer Neil Gaiman gave the superheroes a facelift in 2006, bringing them and their universe to the modern era with a seven-issue miniseries that concluded in 2007.
Nanjiani, who was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 90th Academy Awards for the romantic comedy The Big Sick--he co-wrote the movie with his wife, Emily V. Gordon--has a busy year ahead of him. Along with appearing in Men In Black: International (June 14) and Stuber (July 12), he's starring in two other films currently in post-production, The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle and The Lovebirds, both slated for a 2020 release. A new trailer for Stuber, in which he stars alongside Dave Bautista, was just released.
Along with Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Black Widow's standalone movie, The Eternals is one of several movies we know are coming to the MCU. However, the only one with a specific name and date is Spider-Man: Far From Home, which releases in July. For more, check out our roundup of what we know about Marvel's Phase 4.
Blizzard has started teasing its next limited-time event for Overwatch, called Storm Rising. On April 7, a clipping from the fictional newspaper Havana Sun was posted on Overwatch's main website. Blizzard followed up the next day with a tweet detailing classified Overwatch information--both revealing the story for Storm Rising and possibly teasing a new playable hero called Sojourn. Said tweet can be seen below.
The Havana Sun newspaper clipping is written in Spanish, with an English translation provided beneath it. The article details the unknown corporate takeover of Don Rumbotico, a popular distillery with a "controversial" history. Apparently, after Don Rumbotico founder Clara and Basillo Diaz refused to sell the Havana distillery to an "anonymous financial group," they were met with repeated hardships and eventually had to sell their company regardless. The article goes on to list that Don Rumbotico isn't the only Havana icon to be bought by this mysterious group, and ends with a weather warning for an approaching storm. What this all means for Overwatch isn't completely clear until the follow-up tweet is also taken into account.
The tweet contains a decrypted audio recording for an archived mission briefing in the Overwatch team's database. The message is to Commander Morrison, putting the date of the recording prior to the fall of Overwatch and Morrison's transformation into Soldier: 76. The briefing admonishes Morrison for trying to track down Doomfist, as going after the villain's accountant Maximilien and connecting them back to Doomfist would prove a much easier task. The voice then states Tracer will lead the team tasked with tracking Maximilien down, and she'll be joined by Winston, Genji, and Mercy. The briefing ends with the voice identifying themselves as Sojourn.
The trailer then ends with the tease that Storm Rising will occur April 16 through May 6. Though Maximilien has never appeared in-game, he's been a part of Overwatch's lore for a while as a council member in Doomfist's villainous group, Talon. Most likely, he's the one behind the financial group buying up the local icons in Havana, and Tracer and her team will attempt to investigate his holdings under the cover of the fierce storm that's approaching the city. This story will presumably be told over the course of a four-person co-op PvE mission. Blizzard has not confirmed this, but this style of storytelling has been used in Overwatch's previous April limited-time events, Retribution and Uprising, before.
What's most compelling is the introduction of Sojourn, as she's never been mentioned before but she sounds like someone who possesses great authority either within or over Overwatch. Whether she's an upcoming playable hero remains to be seen, but it sounds like she'll play a substantial role in the upcoming limited-time event.
The first clip from Avengers: Endgame has been released. The much-anticipated follow-up to Avengers: Infinity War arrives later this month, and focuses on what remains of the world's mightiest heroes as they try to stop Thanos and get their friends back.
The clip sees Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, War Machine, Bruce Banner, and Captain Marvel forming a plan to take on Thanos. When Banner suggests that the results might be the same as last time they fought the mad tyrant, Captain Marvel tells them that there's one essential difference: "Before, you didn't have me." Cap also gets to drop a mild curse word, so be warned if you only like Steve being polite and respectful! Check it out below.
This clip was part of the 10 minutes of footage that was recently screened to GameSpot. Check out our look at what else we learnt from this Endgame footage. In addition, a new trailer was released last week, and you can also read our report from the recent Endgame press conference, at which directors Joe and Anthony Russo spoke about how they approached Endgame after the shocking events of Infinity War.
Avengers: Endgame releases on April 26, 2019. It stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Brie Larsson, Sebastian Stan, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Danai Gurira, Paul Rudd, and Josh Brolin.
Endgame will be followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home in July, with Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury both returning, along with a variety of characters from Homecoming.
Bethesda has announced The Elder Scrolls: Blades is now open to all and free to download. You still need a Bethesda net account in order to play, though.
Now that Blades is available for all, Bethesda already has it's eyes set on tweaking the game. "Next up: We're looking at all your feedback and rebalancing the most difficult enemy in the game… the silver chest," the studio tweeted.
Blades is the first mobile installment in The Elder Scrolls series, although Bethesda still describes the title as a "pure Elder Scrolls game" with "console-quality graphics." Unlike The Elder Scrolls games on PC and consoles, Blades doesn't have an open world. Instead, the game is composed of a series of interconnected environments--some of which are still "very large," according to Bethesda.
"We could do it," Bethesda director and executive producer Todd Howard said, when asked about implementing an open-world in Blades. "We'll see how people interact with it. Because it's mobile, we know people may play... We need you to get something meaningful done in 10 or 15 minutes. Do you know what I mean? Even though you could sit down and play it for as many hours as you want."
Blades had been delayed from it's original launch date of Fall 2018 for Android and iOS devices. Although there are plans to port the game to both PC and consoles, Bethesda hasn't announced any planned release window for those versions.
Dave Bautista was already known as one of WWE's biggest stars when he took on the role of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, and since then his second career as a movie star has continued to flourish. This summer he gets one of his biggest roles so far, in the action comedy Stuber. The first trailer has now been released.
Stuber stars Bautista as a tough, grizzled cop who is forced to call an Uber in the middle of a case. Silicon Valley's Kumail Nanjiani plays the driver unlucky enough to accept the booking, and inevitably finds himself thrown into a wild, action-packed, and extremely dangerous operation as Bautista sets out to take down some bad guys. The Guardians movies have shown Bautista's comic skills, and this new movie looks like it will deliver both hilarious buddy comedy and over-the-top action scenes. Check out the very funny trailer below.
Stuber also stars Iko Uwais (Mile 22, The Raid Redemption), Natalie Morales (Battle of the Sexes), Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy), and Betty Gilpin (GLOW). It's directed by Michael Dowse, who previously helmed the ice hockey comedy Goon, as well as episode of Preacher and Future Man. It releases in July 12.
Bautista is one of the many big names set to star in the much-anticipated new adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel Dune, which releases in November 2020. In addition, he is expected to appear later this month in Avengers: Endgame and will star in the upcoming Netflix zombie movie Army of the Dead, from Batman vs Superman director Zack Snyder. Bautista also made a return to the ring this weekend, for a showdown with Triple H at Wrestlemania 35.
Ubisoft has released the patch notes for the latest update for The Division 2. The update itself is also already live, adding content and implementing balance changes and bug fixes. But most important of all is a change that causes NPCs at the White House Base of Operations to shout at you less.
Thanks to the new update, the Invasion: Battle for DC DLC is now live. The DLC is free for all The Division 2 players. Invasion: Battle for DC adds a new world tier to The Division 2, with a raised gear score cap of 500. The DLC also adds a heroic difficulty, the Tidal Basin faction stronghold, brand-new weekly invaded missions, and three more gear sets--Ongoing Directive, True Patriot, and Hard Wired. The full outline of content coming in the DLC can be found listed on The Division 2's website.
The new update adds weapon, mod, and gear overhauls as well. Damage on the MK17 rifle has decreased, while the power of both the LW M4 and LVOA-C RPM has been increased. The Model 700 marksman rifle also sees a damage nerf, while the AA12 shotgun and MG5 light machine gun both get buffed. Skills mods have been overhauled "to give more achievable requirements and more reasonable bonuses," so expect to see a change in almost every bonus and its corresponding requirement.
One of the biggest adjustments in this patch involves weapon mods. Ubisoft has reworked a large number of them, and you can check out a full table on Reddit that outlines the new bonuses and (smaller number of penalties) that they now carry.
Changes have also been implemented in several player skills too, with most of them aimed at drones. Bombardier drones will no longer get destroyed while climbing up or down a ladder or rope, nor will they crash into obstacles during their bombing phase. The firefly skill, revive hive, sniper turret, and chem launcher have all been updated as well.
Dozens of other changes come to The Division 2 in this update. The full patch notes can be found on Reddit. Below, we've outlined the major changes.
The Division 2 April 5 Update Major Changes
Weapons, Mods, and Gear
Overhauled the Weapon mod system, see the table at the end of the patch notes for detailed information.
Fixed a wrong long-range damage value for M4 (super 90) and P416. Previously, they could sometimes increase damage over longer ranges instead of the other way around.
Rifles
Damage on the MK17 rifle reduced by 14%, also corrected this weapon not having a damage falloff over distance.
LW M4 damage increased by 5%, RPM increased from 240 to 360.
LVOA-C RPM increased from 240 to 380.
Marksman Rifles
Model 700 damage reduced by 13%.
Shotguns
AA12 damage increased by 16%.
LMGs
MG5 damage increased by 12% and fixed reversed falloff, causing the weapon to do more damage over a longer range.
Updated initial accuracy on the Sig Sniper MCmillan T1. It should now be much more reliable to shoot as soon as it's shouldered and the transition to scoped view is over.
Reduced the amount of Critical Damage and Headshot Damage that can roll on Gear, including the amount on existing Gear. The actual values will differ depending on the level and quality of the gear it occurs on. This is partially in preparation for another world tier, where we felt these values were already at the limit of what was healthy in WT4.
Complete overhaul of skill mods to give more achievable requirements and more reasonable bonuses.
A closer equivalence between required skill power and the bonuses granted.
Changed the amount of skill power on gear to not increase exponentially with level, but instead more linearly. This results in most skill power values on gear being lower, but in accordance with the lowered requirements.
Tweaked the ranges of bonuses to be within acceptable bounds where they had extreme values before due to scaling errors. Most notably radius and ammo/charges values.
Players will see both the bonuses and the requirements of almost all skill mods change as a result of this overhaul.
In end game, both Superior and High-End skill mods exist to cover the different needs of different builds. They can overlap in power, but High-End mods have a higher maximum roll potential.
We are looking at ways to provide lower value/quality mods in end game world tiers in the future to provide a solution to the fact that on very low skill power builds, there would be room for those mods, and currently we are aware that means you have to save mods from your leveling experience.
Player Skills
Fixed an issue which caused the Bombardier Drone to get destroyed while climbing up/down a ladder or rope.
Improved feedback of Bombardier Drone crashing into obstacles during the bombing phase.
Fixed an issue with Firefly payload sometimes failing to activate when reaching its target.
Fixed an issue where Revive hive would not self-deploy if the agent was busy performing a different action such as using different skill when it triggered.
Revamped the Sniper Turret version of the turret skill.
It now will automatically target the hostile nearest to the players' center-of-screen (the same method it uses to pick other turret targets) and will fire at that target when the button is pressed, without a lock-on order needed.
If a player aims at a hostile, the sniper turret will attempt to match their aim, allowing precision shots using the sniper turret.
An issue where the sniper turret wasn't correctly getting bonus damage when hitting headshots has been fixed.
Revamped the Chem launcher skill platform.
Pressing the skill button will now equip the chem launcher similar to swapping to a weapon. The player can aim and shoot with normal weapon controls, as well as run with the skill and blindfire it.
Quick deploy at the agents own position is still available for the repair version of the chem launcher, using the same controls as before.
Unequipping the Chem launcher can be done using the skill button, the B (XBOX) / Circle (PS4) button or just using the weapon swap controls.
Loot & Rewards
Control Point reward containers are giving the correct number of items for the corresponding Control Point's defense level. Defense level 4 now awards 5 items instead of 3.
Reduced DZ XP gain from Landmarks in Dark Zones.
Reduced the quality and power for items dropped in Propaganda Broadcast and one drop of Settlement Blockade activities to be more in line with other open world enemies and activities.
Updated XP rewards for low-level player playing in World Tiers to scale with player level.
Supply Drop activity loot container items now scale with every consecutive container you open. This includes lowering the reward of the first crate, but results in similar rewards for the activity as a whole.
As a thank you for playing, all players that played before April 4 get 5 Specialized Apparel Keys, regardless of their level.
Apparel Keys will be coming for those players later next week.
Faction Key loot drops from Bounties are now guaranteed and are displayed in the loot preview.
Adjusted bounty credit rewards to use scaling values in World Tiers instead of flat values so if a lower level player is playing with a higher-level player, they will receive an amount of credits more appropriate for their level.
Changed Skill Unlock rewards to be non-invaded only so that players who co-op with a higher-level friend to play invaded before playing on story won't receive the rewards.
Added Apparel cache key fragments to the PvP reward caches.
Adjusted the rewards for the street execution activity to give slightly lower quality/source level gear so the rewards are more in line with the difficulty of the activity.
Reduced the quality and source level charts used for item drops from the living world activities settlement blockade and Propaganda broadcast to be more in line with other open world drops and the difficulty of the activities.
Updated Collectibles set XP reward to scale with player level.
Fixed an issue which caused the Drone Helicopter to not use the correct loot table.
Crafting
Increased Material cap for Standard and Specialized crafting materials to 400 (with all perks).
Increased Material cap for High-End crafting materials to 50.
Materials required for crafting weapon mods does not scale as aggressively and has much lower values in endgame.
Removed a small increase on materials required for crafting weapon mods after upgrading the crafting bench quality.
Changed the upgrade blueprints for exotic weapons Lullaby and Ruthless to not show up on the vendor until you are level 30.
Increased the power for the wandering vendor so her inventory has a narrower Gear Score range closer to the top of the World Tier Gear Score Range.
Set all exotic upgrade blueprints to award you the upgraded weapon on the max gear score of the current tier.
Removed a tiny increase on materials required for crafting weapon mods after upgrading the crafting bench quality.
Exotic weapons are now pre-equipped with lore text mods. These mods do not have stats and cannot be equipped elsewhere.
Talents
Blind Justice – Modified the Buff that increases damage to your next shot now expires at end of combat and when out of combat
First Blood - Updated Normalized MMR Talent First Blood Text to correctly explain that the first shot after reloading from empty is the enhanced bullet.
Bug Fixes
Fixed an issue that could cause undesired appearance changes to agents after login in or using the barber.
Players that have been permanently affected by an appearance change will unfortunately not be changed back with this fix. We want to apologize for any inconvenienced caused by this and we're looking into options to allow players to fully customize their agent in the future, but we do not have a timeline for this feature.
Fixed an issue where the Cluster Seeker Mine could split up more often than intended.
Fixed an issue where the Defender Drone could have unlimited uptime.
Fixed an issue which prevented players from finishing the Unite cypher riddle.
We're confident this is not bugged anymore.
Fixed an issue that would cause the Stronghold activation animation to always play when entering the Base of Operations.
Fixed several instances of Audio logs not playing automatically when picked up.
Fixed an issue that could cause players being unable to finish the Side Mission Worksite Community.
Fixed an issue where players were unable to update their crafting bench after reaching a new World Tier.
Fixed an issue with NPCs sometimes not reacting properly to cooked grenades
Fixed an issue with Hunters not always appropriately despawning if a player flees a combat space
Fixed rare issue where NPCs could get stuck when attempting to melee a player in cover
Fixed issue with the Explosive Seeker Mine occasionally failing to path to its target
Fixed bug where players could fast travel to non-friendly Control Points
Fixed bug that made encounters with friendly NPCs requesting resources too rare
Fixed bug where underground enemies would come to the surface during the day
Fixed an issue where players were able to obtain gear with a higher gear score than intended
Any owned High-End items will be lowered to Gear Score 500.
Any owned Superior items will be lowered to Gear Score 490.
Clan caches no longer award items higher than the maximum loot Gear Score.
Recalibration still allows Gear Score to increase slightly past the maximum loot Gear Score.
Apex Legends developer Respawn recently set live, then quickly disabled, a penalty on players who leave a match early. The studio says that while the feature is in the works, it accidentally went up before it was ready, prompting the temporary fix.
In an update on the Apex Legends subreddit, community manager Jay Frechette said the studio has been working on the feature, but "it wasn't our intention or plan to have it go live with the [April 4] update." He says the penalty turned on early due to a piece of missing script, and the studio has since fixed it to disable the penalty. He states he doesn't have an ETA for "if or when" it will be released.
The 1.1 update included some quality-of-life changes, like allowing you to invite a member of your last squad into your party, and the addition of squad invites to the Friends menu. You can also mute from the Leegends select screen, so altogether it seemed aimed at making the game easier to connect with good teammates and ignore bad ones.
Still, the quit early penalty has been one of the most requested features among the community, since revolving around three-person squads means that a single premature exit can be a crippling blow to your team composition. The admission that the team doesn't know if the feature will be implemented at all suggests that it is still weighing the idea, possibly against other ways to deal with team composition issues.
Ratings might not be as high for The Walking Dead as they once were, but AMC clearly sees the long-running zombie show as one of its most important properties. There are several movies in the works, and last month it was reported that a new Walking Dead spin-off show was in "active development." It has now been confirmed that the spin-off has been picked up for a full season.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new as-yet-untitled Walking Dead show will have a 10-episode first season. The new show has been created by long-time Walking Dead writer Matt Negrete and Scott Gimple, the franchise's chief content officer. Negrete will also act as showrunner.
In a statement, Negrete said: "I'm beyond excited to be a part of this new show set in The Walking Dead universe. Writing and producing for the original series has been the job of a lifetime and I'm honored to be working with Scott and all the fine Dead folks at AMC in this new capacity. I can't wait for the fans of the franchise to see what we've been cooking up!"
The new Walking Dead spin-off will join Fear the Walking Dead, which is set during the early months of the zombie apocalypse and premiered in 2015. The fifth season is due later this year.
The Walking Dead movies, meanwhile, were announced in November last year and are expected to focus on the character of Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln. Lincoln left the main show at the start of the most recent ninth season, but Gimple confirmed that he will return for the films, along with co-star Pollyanna McIntosh, who plays Jadis. It is unknown when they are likely to be released, but the first movie is expected to start filming this year.
Recent audience numbers for The Walking Dead are nowhere near the numbers it enjoyed in 2014, when the Season 5 premiere became the most watched cable show of all time. Nevertheless, it is still the most popular drama on cable, and as The Wrap notes, its audience decline is in line with a fall in cable viewers across the board.
The reveal of Borderlands 3 didn't go without its share of controversy. As part of the announcement, developer Gearbox and publisher 2K revealed that it would be exclusive to the Epic Games Store until April 2020. This led to a backlash in the form of review bombing older Borderlands games on Steam. Now Gearbox head Randy Pitchford has stepped in to let offenders know they may actually be making things worse for themselves.
"Ironically, that this misuse is possible and that Steam has no interest in correcting this misuse makes me kind of happy about 2K's decision and makes me want to reconsider Gearbox Publishing's current posture on the platform," he said on Twitter.
The threat may have gotten Steam's attention, as the platform is discounting reviews, for the first time ever, on Borderlands 2. Steam implemented a recently added tool that flags "Off-Topic Review Activity" within a certain date range. The reviews are still present in the system, but aren't included in the aggregate user score. They're also accompanied by a note warning readers that the user review section includes "an abnormal set of reviews that we believe are largely unrelated to the likelihood that you would enjoy the product."
The same policy has since gone into effect for the original Borderlands and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Each of them had undergone heavy review bombing--intentionally leaving low review scores to disrupt an aggregate user score--with many of the comments referencing the Epic exclusivity for the upcoming sequel. Steam's response has shown that it is able to take action in these cases, but Epic is still making inroads with its digital storefront so we likely haven't heard the last of these controversies.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has spent quite a while in development. The Kickstarter concluded nearly four years ago, and several platform changes later it's finally slated for release this summer. So the demo at PAX East was almost certainly the game in a near-finalized state, and—for the most part—it was promising as a Castlevania homage.
Though the game has always been pitched as a modernized Symphony of the Night rendered in 3D, this session was the first time I'd grappled with the implications that such a change would have on gameplay. Bloodstained manages to render the physicality and weight of the classics it's inspired by with remarkable accuracy. For better and worse, the demo included a creature flying in a wave-like pattern through a platforming area just like the series' infamous Medusa Head enemies, and colliding with them even had the same knockback effect. It was a singularly frustrating and yet familiar moment.
The rendering manifested in the environment itself, as I climbed a large rounded tower. While it may have been technically possible to pull this off with traditional 2D art, it wouldn't have been as convincing. The 3D gave it a sense of space and depth, so that weaving in-between the inside and outside of the massive tower seemed believable.
At the same time, I missed the pixel-precise definition of sprites, especially in the boss fight against a dual-headed dragon. Its attacks hit fast and hard, and it was sometimes difficult to tell just how close was too close. This was less an issue with smaller enemies, so it wasn't universal, but as a longtime Castlevania fan I found the adjustment to be slightly jarring.
On the whole, though, the classic sensation of quick, piston-tight platforming and combat has made the transition. It's difficult for a retro revival, much less one rendered in an entirely new way, to capture the essence of what made the originals stand out. Miriam's variety of weapons feel alternately light and swift or heavy and thumping. The level design pitched a good balance of graceful platforming, tough combat, and occasionally a blend of both.
The Kickstarter boom of the mid-2010s led to a lot of retro revivals. By taking longer to release than many of its contemporaries, Bloodstained is launching into an environment that has had some fizzles and failures to recapture the magic with a new franchise. But perhaps because it took that extra time, this one feels a little more complete than many of the others. If it maintains the demo's level of quality throughout, it could be something special.
The British Academy Game Awards is one of the most prestigious awards ceremonies in the games industry, and the 2019 event brought a number of wins for Sony's PS4 exclusive God of War. The epic game was up for 10 awards and won four of them, including Best Game.
God of War also won the awards for Audio Achievement, Music, and Narrative. Other big winners at this year's event were Return of the Obra Dinn--which won the Artistic Achievement and Game Design categories--and Nintendo Labo, which swept up the Game Innovation and Family awards.
Surprisingly, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Celeste--which were each nominated for six and five awards, respectively--didn't win a single category between them. The full list of winners is filled with some outstanding games, however, and you can see that list below with the winners highlighted in bold.
The BAFTA Game awards are voted on by members of the British Academy. Only one category, Mobile Game of the Year, is decided by the public, and that went to Old School Runescape.
BAFTA Game Awards Nominations 2019
Artistic Achievement
Detroit: Become Human
Gris
God of War
Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Audio Achievement
Battlefield V
Detroit: Become Human
God of War
Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2
Tetris Effect
Best Game
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
Celeste
God of War
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
British Game
11-11: Memories Retold
Forza Horizon 4
Red Dead Redemption 2
The Room: Old Sins
Overcooked 2
Two Point Hospital
Debut Game
Beat Saber
Cultist Simulator
Donut County
Florence
Gris
Yoku's Island Express
Evolving Game
Destiny 2
Elite Dangerous
Fortnite
Overwatch
Sea of Thieves
Rainbow Six Siege
Family
Lego The Incredibles
Nintendo Labo
Overcooked 2
Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu / Eevee
Super Mario Party
Yoku's Island Express
Game Beyond Entertainment
11: Memories Retold
Celeste
Florence
Life is Strange 2
My Child Lebensborn
Nintendo Labo
Game Design
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
Celeste
God of War
Into the Breach
Minit
Return of the Obra Dinn
Game Innovation
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission
Celeste
Cultist Simulator
Moss
Nintendo Labo
Return of the Obra Dinn
Mobile Game
Alto's Odyssey
Brawl Stars
Donut County
Florence
Reigns: Game of Thrones
The Room: Old Sins
Multiplayer
A Way Out
Battlefield V
Overcooked 2
Sea of Thieves
Super Mario Party
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Music
Celeste
Far Cry 5
Florence
God of War
Gris
Tetris Effect
Narrative
Florence
Frostpunk
God of War
Spider-Man
Red Dead Redemption 2
Return of the Obra Dinn
Original Property
Dead Cells
Florence
Into the Breach
Moss
Return of the Obra Dinn
Subnautica
Performer
Christopher Judge as Kratos in God of War
Danielle Bisutti as Freya in God of War
Jeremy Davies as The Stranger in God of War
Melissanthi Mahut as Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey
Roger Clark as Arthur Morgan in Read Dead Redemption 2
Konami has released a new Data Pack update for PES 2019. The patch, which is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC now, makes a number of graphical changes and adds a bunch of player faces to the sports sim.
Among the new player faces are Radja Nainggolan, Kevin-Prince Boateng, and Ilkay Gundogan. Multiple other players--including Samuel Umtiti, Jack Grealish, Samir Handanovic, and Ethan Ampadu--have received "revised faces," Konami says, while more still receive "minor graphical improvements." Finally, Data Pack 5 updates "several" kits, including those of Schalke and of the Argentina and Colombia national teams.
Konami's sports game launched in August to a positive critical reception, including a 9/10 in GameSpot's PES 2019 review. "For as long as EA continues to develop FIFA and hold a monopoly over official licences, PES will be the scrappy underdog just hoping for a surprise upset, even when it's fielding the likes of London Blue and PV White Red," wrote Richard Wakeling. "The lack of licences for top-tier leagues remains a disheartening sticking point, but PES continues to make brilliant strides on the pitch, building on what was already an incredibly satisfying game of football to produce one of the greatest playing football games of all time. It might be lacking off the pitch, but put it on the field against the competition and a famous giant killing wouldn't be all that surprising."
The Division 2 is back at the top of the UK physical sales chart for the first time in three weeks. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Yoshi's Crafted World have filled that spot for the past two weeks, respectively, but Ubisoft's PS4, Xbox One, and PC shooter returns to No.1 for the week ending April 6.
Immediately below The Division 2 this week is FIFA 19, according to sales monitor Chart-Track, while Yoshi's latest Switch adventure is down to No.3. Another Nintendo title, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, occupies the No.4 spot, while Sekiro drops two places to No.5.
The remainder of the chart paints a familiar picture, with only one new game in the top 40 this week. That game is Nintendo Switch's Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission, which debuts at No.26.
You can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.
Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are splitting up. The producing partners who worked together on a number of comedy films such as Anchorman, Step Brothers, and Talladega Nights, are ending the lengthy partnership at production company Gary Sanchez in a move that sounds amicable.
Ferrell and McKay said in a joint statement that the past 13 years working together "could not have been more enjoyable and satisfying," according to The Hollywood Reporter. "The two of us will always work together creatively and always be friends. And we recognize we are lucky as hell to end this venture as such."
Ferrell and McKay have a number of films still in the works under their previous arrangement, including the Hustlers movie starring Jennifer Lopez. All of the in-production movies will go forward. THR points out that the specific details of how Gary Sanchez and Gloria Sanchez (the female-fronted label) will operate going forward are unknown.
McKay has pushed more into the drama genre lately with his Oscar-nominated movies like The Big Short and more recently the Dick Cheney movie Vice. At the same time, he's continued to produce Will Ferrell comedies such as the recent flop Holmes & Watson.
McKay and Ferrell's Sanchez Production also owns the comedy website Funny or Die.
"Thank you to everyone who collaborated with us for 13 years. Proud of the stuff we got to work on and most of all, the amazing people we worked with. Also excited for new stuff to come..." McKay said on Twitter.
A new Marvel movie will film in Sydney, though it's unclear at this stage what production it is. A news release from Mitch Fifield, Australia's Minister for Communications and the Arts, and New South Wales Minister for the Arts Don Harwin, confirmed that the "Untitled Marvel Studios Feature Film" will begin production at some point in 2019 in and around Sydney.
The Australian Federal Government put in $24 million from the "Made in NSW fund" to help entice Marvel and owner Disney to film in Australia. Filming will take place at Fox Studios Australia and "other locations" in the country. Disney claimed ownership of Fox Studios Australia as part of its acquisition of Fox.
It's not the first Marvel movie to film in Australia, as Thor: Ragnarok also filmed in the country.
According to Fifield, the new Marvel movie filming in Australia will create 4,700 new jobs and utilise the services of around 1,200 local businesses. In total, Australia is expecting to see "over $150 million of new international investment" related to this decision.
The production of the movie is expected to spend in excess of $100 million in New South Wales and establish as many as 770 jobs for local screen professionals specifically.
"The film needs a large workforce of highly specialised special effects technicians and will also require sophisticated stunts, all of which NSW's incredibly skilled and experienced screen industry can deliver," Harwin said in a statement.
"Marvel Studios thanks the Australian and NSW Governments and is thrilled to be returning to Australia to work with the talented and highly skilled Australian crew, stunt performers, and actors together with the thousands of small businesses across Australia that supply world class equipment, goods, facilities, and services to large budget productions," Marvel Studios vice president David Grant said.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, the Marvel movie shooting in Sydney is Shang-Chi, which would be Marvel's first superhero film starring an Asian protagonist.
The next Marvel movie is the much-anticipated Avengers: Endgame, which will wrap up 10 years worth of MCU storytelling.
Rush Hour stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker have yet again teased the next Rush Hour film. Tucker posted a picture of himself and Chan on Instagram, with each actor raising four fingers.
This image itself doesn't confirm anything, but it appears to be a tease for the fourth film that both actors have been talking about for a while now.
In 2017, Chan said he had been turning down scripts for new Rush Hour films for seven years, but he finally read a script that was good enough. The plan, at least at one point, was for a second draft of the approved script to be finished in 2018. He said he was eager to make the fourth Rush Hour film with Tucker sooner rather than later before they get old.
As for Tucker, he said on an ESPN podcast in 2018 that the fourth film will be the "rush of all rushes."
Chan and Tucker play mismatched police officers in the Rush Hour series. The first movie came out in 1998, with sequels following in 2001 and 2007. Together, the movies have made around $850 million. Each film was directed by Brett Ratner, who in 2017 was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment or misconduct. In 2011, he was dropped as a producer of The Oscars after he made a gay slur.
It's been quite a while since Sony has shared any details on The Last of Us: Part II. And with Sony not coming to E3 this year, some fans are wondering when they may hear more about the long-awaited PlayStation 4 game. It's still unknown when more details or footage may be released.
Naughty Dog community manager Arne Meyer said on Twitter that he appreciates the enthusiasm from fans, but all there is to say for now is that Naughty Dog will share more details when the studio is ready. Meyer tweeted in response to an article from the satirical website The Onion that made a joke about The Last of Us: Part II launching 2019.
Can't say much, but we'll put new things out when it and we are ready. Appreciate you and all of our fans' patience!
The Last of Us: Part II is directed by Anthony Newman and Kurt Margenau, both of whom were lead game designers on Uncharted 4 and worked on the first Last of Us. The original Last of Us was directed by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley; Druckmann has since been promoted to Vice President of Naughty Dog, while Straley has left Naughty Dog.
We've made it when @TheOnion has a comedy post about you, right???
(amazing! never thought something I worked on would end up here when I first started picking up The Onion in the midwest back in 94.) https://t.co/XThP7IXvkH
Game of Thrones returns for its eighth and final season in less than one week. The show's stars are making the press rounds, talking about the final season and what it means. John Bradley, who plays Samwell Tarly, told Collider that as the show ends, he sees that Game of Thrones has helped TV stand taller and rival cinema in some regards.
"A lot of the TV that comes after [Game of Thrones] is taking lessons from it and using it as a springboard in terms of what can be achieved through the medium of television and how, given the right set of people and the right circumstances, it can rival cinema," Bradley said. "And it's got a right to be ambitious. It's created a whole new sense of ambition in TV that wasn't really there before. There has never been anything on this visual scale before. And I think TV is no longer seen as a kind of poor cousin of cinema. I hope that TV going forward feels that we've empowered it to be as ambitious as we've been."
The final season of Game of Thrones was a massive effort, according to Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth and is also featured in the Collider video.
"This season has really outdone all the others in all regards," she said. "The production values, and the way in which everyone was pushed is much further than anything they've ever done on the show before. The scale is so much bigger."
In regards to special effects specifically, VFX producer Steve Kullback recalled that Seasons 2 and 3 had about 600-800 VFX shots in each season. Season 8, meanwhile, has "multiples of that" in a single episode, so it is no small undertaking.
Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres on HBO April 14. Soon we'll know who lives and dies, and everything else there is to know. While the show is ending, a prequel series is on the way.
We've learned a little more about the 2019 Sonic the Hedgehog movie. Speaking to IMDB from the CinemaCon event recently, Jim Carrey--who plays the evil doctor Robotnik--said the film will have an edge to it while still overall appealing to families.
"We're playing to families, so you can't get too crazy," Carrey said. "But I made sure that there are some winks and nods, and edgy things that are still acceptable to both age groups."
Carrey also described Robotnik as a very smart scientist who is "pure, unbridled evil."
The new Sonic movie is produced by Deadpool 1 director Tim Miller, and that fact prompted the question about the film potentially having an edgier side.
Actress Tika Sumpter plays a veterinarian who is "one of the ones who helps Sonic get through this dimension of a world and figure it out."
James Marsden plays a police officer who meets Sonic through happenstance, and then they work together to challenge Robotnik. Marsden also spoke about the Sonic film's tone.
"Of course the movie is going to be family friendly, but there is an edge to it; there is a sharpness to it. There is a wit to it," he said.
Sonic opens in theatres on November 8. Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, voices Sonic. The movie is directed by Jeff Fowler, who picked up an Oscar nomination for Gopher Broke.
At MetLife Stadium on Sunday, April 7, Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair competed in a Triple Threat for the Raw and Smackdown Women's Championships during Wrestlemania 35. And after a historical main event--this is the first time that women have ever main-evented the WWE PPV in its 35-year history--Becky Lynch emerged victorious.
The match started out a little sloppy, but once everyone's nerves settled, the match fell into a nice groove—quick-paced and athletic, but with plenty of brutality, including a table spot in the corner of the ring. The finish saw Lynch reverse Rousey's secondary finisher, Piper's Pit, into a Crucifix Pin.
The match caps what's been a three-year "Evolution," which saw the WWE women's division slowly transition from a side act to the men's division, to competitors in their own right.
Progress was slow but incremental. The women were once referred to as Divas; WWE dropped that moniker as well as the bikini contests, bra-and-panties showdowns, and 5-minute matches that long characterized the division. And things had been changing for awhile behind the scenes as well: NXT hired indie sensation Sara Amato in 2012 to specifically develop the women's division.
But it wasn't until the fans rebelled and started hashtagging #GiveDivasAChance in 2015, that things started changing, booking-wise, on main roster shows Raw and Smackdown. And once they were given the chance to show what they could do, the women, led by the efforts of "Four Horsewomen" Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley, rose to the challenge.
You can see Gamespot's live reactions to WrestleMania 35, and the results to all the evening's matches, for more information.
Part of what made Star Wars: The Last Jedi a controversial film among fans was the way it handled Rey's parentage. Fans speculated wildly about who her parents might be, but it was revealed in The Last Jedi--written and directed by Rian Johnson--that her parents were ... apparently no one of any significance at all. That revelation, in addition to the killing off of Supreme Leader Snoke, irked some fans. They thought the reveal of Rey's parentage and plans for Snoke were part of some grander storytelling scheme.
Now, Johnson has suggested that he wouldn't be bothered if Star Wars: Episode IX from JJ Abrams retcons some of the storytelling beats from The Last Jedi. Johnson was asked directly by MTV News if he would be bothered if Episode IX retcons Rey's lineage.
.@rianjohnson is just as excited for J.J. Abram's #StarWars Episode IX as we are, and he tells us at #CinemaCon he hopes that the directors keep taking the universe to new heights: "I want him to do stuff that I wasn't expecting him to do" pic.twitter.com/D7Jh5SqgeT
"Like I said, man, I want to let go of all my expectations," Johnson replied. "I want to sit back. I want to be entertained. I want to be surprised. I want to be thrilled. I want him to do stuff that I wasn't expecting him to do, and just go along for the ride. For me, that's why I go to the movies, you know?"
Explaining the reveal of Rey's parents, who were nothing more than "filthy junk traders" according to Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Johnson said, "We're not here to give Rey an easy time; we're here to put her on the hard path so that she has to. Because that's the path of a hero."
Abrams reportedly had a different idea for Rey's parents, so it'll be interesting to see if he decides to retcon Rey's parents in Episode IX.
Very little is known about the story of Episode IX, but it's expected to wrap up the new trilogy that began with 2015's The Force Awakens. Abrams also directed The Force Awakens, and he wasn't originally attached to Episode IX until director Colin Trevorrow was released.
It appears the DC Extended Universe of films is back on track. After Batman v Superman disappointed audiences, 2017's Wonder Woman and 2018's Aquaman struck better chords and made a lot of money at the box office. The latest DCEU movie, Shazam, opened this weekend--and it, too, is doing well out of the gate.
The movie made $53.5 million in the US and Canada for its opening weekend, which represents a good start but of course not as strong as other, big DCEU films starring bigger and better-known characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Joker. It is the seventh movie in the DCEU.
Counting preview ticket sales, Shazam has made $56.8 million in the US and Canada, according to Entertainment Weekly, which supplied all the box office figures. Shazam was the No. 1 movie of the weekend in the US and Canada. Shazam has made more than $100 million so far from international markets, for a global total of around $158 million to date.
Shazam focuses on a young boy, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who can turn into an adult superhero named Shazam by yelling "Shazam!" Zachary Levi plays Shazam. The movie also stars Adam Brody, Ron Cephas Jones, Mark Strong, and Djimon Hounsou. It was directed by David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation) off a script by Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke.
Elsewhere at the box office, the newest Stephen King movie, Pete Semetary, opened to $25 million, while another new release, The Best Enemies starring Sam Rockwell and Taraji P. Henson, opened at No. 6. You can see the full weekend box office report below, via EW.
April 5-7 US/Canada Box Office
Shazam! -- $53.5 million
Pet Sematary -- $25 million
Dumbo -- $18.2 million
Us -- $13.8 million
Captain Marvel -- $12.7 million
The Best of Enemies -- $4.5 million
Five Feet Apart -- $3.7 million
Unplanned -- $3.2 million
Wonder Park -- $2 million
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World -- $2 million
WWE's biggest PPV of the year, Wrestlemania 35 is said and done. The event took place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. There were plenty of title changes over the course of the evening and some memorable Wrestlemania moments. You can check out full results from the 2019 WWE PPV below.
Every major WWE title is on the line from 205 Live's Cruiserweight title to Raw's Universal Championship. There is plenty to get excited about and something for every WWE fan on the April 7 evening.
Wrestlemania 35 will be the final WWE PPV and match for Kurt Angle, a Hall of Famer with a long history with the company and wrestling as a whole. He'll be taking on Baron Corbin, but if we had to guess, we're thinking there will be more to this match. There is also Kofi Kingston fighting Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship. Kingston has been down a long, hard road in order to get here, overcoming immense odds and obstacles placed in his way.
Finally, there's the main event of Wrestlemania. For the first time, women will headline the show with a triple threat match between Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey, and Becky Lynch in a winner takes all match. Considering how amazing past Charlotte/Lynch matches have been in the past, this should be good one. Check out the full card below.
Wrestlemania Match Card:
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese (Cruiserweight Championship) [KICKOFF SHOW]
Andre The Giant Battle Royal
Women's Battle Royal
The Revival vs. Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder (Raw Tag Team Championship)
Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Finn Balor (Intercontinental Championship)
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
The Usos (c) vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. The Bar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. The IIconics vs. Nia Jax & Tamina (Women's Tag Team Championship)
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (United States Championship)
Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin
Triple H vs. Batista (No Holds Barred Match)
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship)
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins (Universal Championship)
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (c) (Winner Takes All)
As Wrestlemania goes on, we'll be keeping you updated with the winners and losers of the event as it happens. Scroll down and keep refreshing for live updates.
Kickoff Show
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese (Cruiserweight Championship)
Tony Nese wins by pin at 10:46
Women's Battle Royal
Carmella was the lone survivor at 10:23
The Revival vs. Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder (Raw Tag Team Championship)
Hawkins and Ryder win by pin at 13:19.
Andre The Giant Battle Royal
Braun Strowman wins at 10:20
Main Card
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins (Universal Championship)
Rollins wins by pin at 2:30.
Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles
AJ Styles wins by pin at 16:10
The Usos (c) vs. Ricochet & Aleister Black vs. The Bar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev (Smackdown Tag Team Championship)
The Usos win by pin at 10:02
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz
Shane won by pin at 15:28
Bayley & Sasha Banks (c) vs. Beth Phoenix & Natalya vs. The IIconics vs. Nia Jax & Tamina (Women's Tag Team Championship)
The Iiconics win by pin at 10:45.
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship)
Kingston wins by pin at 23:44
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio (United States Championship)
Samoa Joe wins by submission at 1:00.
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
Roman Reigns wins by pin at 10:08
Triple H vs. Batista (No Holds Barred Match)
Triple H wins by pin at 24:40
Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin
Corbin wins by pin at 5:50
Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Finn Balor (Intercontinental Championship)
Finn Balor wins by pin at 4:00
Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair (c) (Winner Takes All)
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